In this review of Poison Ivy #48, Mayor Pamela Isley faces a reckoning after her scheme to secure Gotham City for the Parliament of Trees goes south in this continuation of the multi-part “Bad Seeds” crossover.
Poison Ivy #48 main cover by Jessica Fong (DC Comics)
POISON IVY #48
Written by G. WILLOW WILSON
Art by MARCIO TAKARA
Main Cover: JESSICA FONG
Variant Covers: NOOBOVICH, DAN MORA, MANNY VINCENT CARBONILLA, HAYDEN SHERMAN, ALEXANDER LOZANO
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 9/30/26
This review contains spoilers
Poison Ivy #48 begins as Ivy reminisces about nature and humanity’s small place in it during a walk through the rapidly transforming Gotham City. The disgraced mayor encounters a pair of unhappy constituents who confront her, and Ivy admits she chose a higher calling than protecting the city. Arriving at Robinson Park, Ivy finds one of her few remaining allies, The Hill, ready to leave.
The Hill tells Ivy how much she screwed up and that the Parliament of Trees considers Ivy as only a human. Frustrated, Ivy witnesses the arrival of a new creature called a Wood Elemental as it bursts up from below and lumbers (heh) straight to Gotham, followed soon by more.
The Hill bails, leaving Ivy with a warning as she is approached by an envoy of the Parliament who reminds her that they could have taken Gotham at any time, and she must still pay for killing Bog Venus. Incensed, Ivy lashes out but the envoy easily fends off her attack. Gripped by a sudden realization about her life, and how she had the temerity to take on the origin of plant life itself (as if), Ivy flees.
The mayor makes her intentions clear to those who supported her… (DC Comics)
Back in the city, Ivy is struck in the ankle by a crossbow bolt from none other than Huntress. Wounded, Ivy tries to bluff Huntress into a showdown, but the vigilante leaves Ivy to suffer.
Poison Ivy #48 ends as Ivy begins to suffer from the toxic effects from the change in Gotham’s air and she decides that her only desire is to reconcile with Harley Quinn.
Analysis
Poison Ivy #48 marks a major turning point in the “Bad Seeds” crossover as Pamela Isley herself faces a reckoning and a revelation that echoes from months of bad decisions. Ivy has pushed away her remaining friends and allies and heaps scorn on everyone who dared to love, support (or worship) her in an effort to maintain her arrangement with the Parliament of Trees. Writer G. Willow Wilson crafts Ivy’s downfall, comeuppance, what have you, in brutal fashion.
Ivy’s dark night (dark knight?) of the soul breaks her as she is forced to face her own culpability in her string of bad decisions even as she believed that she was doing the right thing. Ivy’s pity party was all about Pam, but she is now keenly aware of her own shortcomings and that the eleventh-hour desperation play of selling out Gotham City to the Parliament was a terrible decision.
However, Ivy is still thinking about herself when bluffing Huntress and seeking out Harley Quinn. Also, how many of the supernatural creatures in Poison Ivy #48 could have come from Ivy’s own wounded psyche and not from any actual encounters? Is Ivy cracking? She is certainly at her lowest point since the end of Joker War.
Ivy is an extreme environmental activist, but her just cause doesn’t excuse her years of villainy, or her manipulation of those closest to her. The ramifications from “Bad Seeds” should prove to be Ivy’s undoing. Longtime series artist Marcio Takara’s art is a joy as always, providing seemingly simplistic linework that contains volumes in body language, shadow and facial expressions.
The only quibble with the art might be how much blood Ivy lost from her ankle wound. Also, shouldn’t she be hobbling with that injury or does Ivy have recuperative abilities too?
Final Thoughts
Poison Ivy #48 crosses the midpoint of “Bad Seeds” with a reckoning for the title character, and more threats looming on the horizon. G. Willow Wilson’s in-depth exploration of Pamela Isley’s emotional torment reveals that the character is indeed human after all, but not necessarily one to root for. The script crackles and the art sings.
